Link Between Online Gaming and Violence Murdered While It Slept

According to the findings of Jane Barnett and her colleagues at Middlesex University, people who play violent games online actually feel more relaxed and less angry after they have played.The psychologists recruited 292 male and female online gamers, playing World of Warcraft. The players, aged between 12 and 83 years, were asked to complete a questionnaire on anger, aggression and personality and then played the game for two hours. After this time they were they were asked to complete the test again.

The psychologists found overall that the gamers were more likely to feel calm or tired after playing– but there were differences depending on sex, age and personality.

According to Barnett:

“There were actually higher levels of relaxation before and after playing the game as opposed to experiencing anger but this did very much depend on personality type. This will help us to develop a emotion and gaming questionnaire to help distinguish the type of gamer who is likely to transfer their online aggression into everyday life.”

The results were presented at the British Psychological Society’s Annual Conference in Dublin today.

Its about time someone set the record straight. It is nice to know that hacking, slashing, seeing blood splatters, watching an orc get his head chopped off and griefing fellow players in a violent PvP match is the equivalent of chicken noodle soup for the soul.

Be sure to check back with us because I am sure there will be more on this in the not so distant future.

Via: Press Release